


Tension

by Dare_devil



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Eventual Smut, M/M, Sexual Tension, injured frank, possibly slow burn I haven’t decided yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 14:21:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18143342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dare_devil/pseuds/Dare_devil
Summary: Frank wakes up at The Avengers Tower as a mission goes wrong. He ends up meeting Tony Stark and tension begins to form between the two.





	1. Chapter 1

Frank had been tailing this gang for a while, from what he found out they were fracturing drugs but not just any drugs, these were causing death to people that took it which included stupid curious teens. They were fracturing and making money from people’s death and nothing was being done to stop it, but that was going to change. 

He watched from inside his van as the gang entered the building. Getting out the van he made his way to the back, opening the doors he put on his long coat and grabbed his guns ready to start the end of the drug operation. 

He entered through the back of the building before he felt all eyes on him “You think we didn’t know you were coming Mr Castle?” Called out someone from the balcony most likely the leader of the operation, Frank looked around to see the other gang members holding their guns out but they didn’t scare him. 

“Open fire!” He Called out and Frank quickly ran behind something as guns began to blaze. He pointed his gun out and began to shoot, putting the drug dealers into the ground. 

That’s when suddenly someone from the corner of his eye swung across the building.  
“Hey guys!” Called out a voice, Frank looked up to see that goddamn Spiderkid crouching on the balcony.  
“You guys are really noisy, I’m trying to sleep here!” He called out before he began to shoot his webs.

Frank watched as the gang began to open fire the Spider getting closer to Frank, that’s when he noticed some sort of bomb flying towards the kid. “Get out the way!” called out Frank as he ran over pushing the kid out the way as he bomb went off.

The impact threw Frank against the wall, his body felt weak and blood began to pool out of different areas on his body. He had his bulletproof vest on but even that was not enough to protect him completely. His vision began to blur and his ears rang as he saw the Spider shooting his webs and punching and kicking the gang members to the floor, wrapping them in his webs before he made his way over to Frank.

“Hey you’re going to be okay Mr Castle!” He called out, placing his hand on what Frank assumes was one of his wounds. The Spider began talking into something “Mr Stark I need your help!” He said before he began to give the address to the warehouse.

“Mr Castle?!” He called out as Frank slowly dropped out of consciousness. 

—————-  
Frank woke up in unfamiliar surroundings, the room was brightly lit and the sound of machines beeping at the side of him. Was he in the hospital? As Frank went to sit up he felt a hand on his chest “Frank my name is Bruce Banner, you’re at the Avengers tower” explained Bruce as he pushed him back into the bed.

The Avengers tower? How? Why? He remembered vaguely what happened the Spider kid called out for help, Tony Stark his guesses is that Tony found them and brought him back here. That’s when he looked up to see someone else entering the room.

Of course none other than Tony Stark. “Frank! Nice to see you finally awake!” He said as he stepped closer to the bed as Bruce left the room.   
His whole body ached and now here he was in the goddamn Avengers tower.  
“We haven’t been introduced yet I’m-“  
“Yeah I know who you are...you’re the rich asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone else” he responded causing Tony to chuckle “and I know who you are, the man who calls himself the Punisher, who thinks the place is his shooting ground” said Tony causing Frank’s nose to scrunch up a little almost like a snarl.

“Why were you at the warehouse?” Asked Tony.  
“Why do you think?” He spat back as he looked directly at Tony.  
“The assholes have been creating drugs that kill people, making money off their death, now if you know me as you say you do, do you really think I’m going to let them get away with that?” He continued, keeping his eye contact.

“Well it didn’t work out did it?-“  
“That’s because the goddamn Spiderkid got in the way, you recruiting them young Tony?”   
“I didn’t ask him to go there”  
“Well he did and look what happened, he would have been blown to pieces if it wasn’t for me” Spat Frank. 

It was silent between the two and Tony kept his sight on him. Frank was an interesting one, he had read about him before but he never thought that he’d end up meeting him, let alone have him in the Avengers tower. Frank definitely gave off the intimidating vibe but he didn’t scare him if anything Tony grew more curious about him. 

Frank relaxed more into the bed as he began to feel tired.  
“I’ll let you get some rest, I’ll be back later” Said Tony as he left the room.  
What an asshole he thought to himself as he began to close his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Frank did not expect to wake up to was some kid sitting on a chair next to the bed. As he turned to look at the kid the boy’s eyes widened with surprise “I didn’t mean to wake you Mr Castle” spoke up the kid in a very familiar voice. Frank’s eyes narrowed together as he began to recall why his voice sounded so familiar.

“Sorry I’m Pe-“  
“Spiderkid”  
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about”  
“Come one don’t play dumb with me kid, I recognised your voice...and it’s not everyday someone calls me Mr Castle” Said Frank with a smirk.  
The kid sighed before looking up with the brownest eyes Frank had ever seen “I’m sorry for what happened” he said.

Frank shook his head “You’re just a kid, what were you doing out there? Tony put you up to it?”  
“No Mr Stark is not like that! Most of the time he tells me to stay out of things because they’re too dangerous, I heard a report come in and I decided to head down myself” explained the kid causing Frank to chuckle.  
“You remind me of someone I know, she’s about your age, gets herself into trouble even when told to stay out of it” chuckled Frank he expects him and Amy would get along, they seem to behave in similar ways. 

“How long have you been here?” Asked Frank.  
“About an hour but you’ve been asleep longer than that” Responded Peter.  
“Whose idea was it to bring me here?”   
“Both mine and Mr Starks, I couldn’t leave you out there...I don’t agree with the whole killing thing but I understand that you were trying to put a stop to them” he explained.  
“Why did you go to the warehouse?”   
“I heard gunfire and I felt I need to put a stop to it....I didn’t know you were there...I’ve read about you before but I never thought I’d actually meet the Punisher let alone save my life...thank you for that” said Peter still feeling guilty about the whole situation.

“It’s fine kid” muttered Frank as he closed his eyes, relaxing into the bed.  
“Mr Stark said not to fall back asleep”  
“Well Tony can kiss my ass” muttered Frank causing Peter to raise his eyebrow in amusement.   
“Do you not like Mr Stark?” Frank shrugged his shoulders in response “seems like an asshole to me” he muttered, eyes still closed.

“He’s not the asshole everyone makes him out to be, hopefully you both can get along in time....so do you think I’m an asshole?” Asked Peter causing Frank to chuckle.  
“Nah, you’re stupid for going in there acting like a running target but you’re not an asshole...what’s your name kid?” He said as he opened his eyes again to look at the kid.

“Peter...Peter Parker”  
“Nice to meet you Peter”  
That’s when the door opened which caused them both to look over.

“Glad to see you wake Frank!” Called out Tony as he entered the room with papers in his hands.  
“Peter do you think you could give us a moment?” He asked before he grabbed his things and left the room.  
“See ya kid!” Called out Frank as Peter left the room.

“If I’m not allowed to sleep can I at least get some aspirin” Asked Frank as he looked up at Tony.  
“Where does it hurt?” Asked Tony causing Frank to chuckle “everywhere”   
“I’ll get you some...if you answer a few questions for me” He responded causing annoyance to wash over Frank.

“What?” He said before Tony looked at the papers in his hands.  
“You were in trial for your killing spree in Hells Kitchen, so why? What’s the motive?” Asked Tony.  
“Because they deserved it that’s why” Responded Frank.  
“What? You just decided one day that enough is enough with criminals and you just decided to take them down?” 

“I don’t need to explain myself to you, some rich asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone else because he’s an Avenger” Spat Frank. Tony nodded his head “alright Frank” he said as he put the papers down on the small table in the corner.  
“I’m trying help you” He said as he leaned forward, holding onto the headboard at the end of the bed.  
“Everyone else seems to think your unhinged, too dangerous to keep here...Peter doesn’t think so and nether do I, I just think there’s stuff your keeping from us...stuff that could be used to prove everyone else wrong” explained Tony.

“I don’t give a shit what everyone thinks, I have my reasons for what I do and I do not need to explain them to you, you wanna know why I’m like this? then I suggest you look deeper into your research on me” Said Frank as he looked that the papers at the desk. 

Tony moved away from the bed and grabbed the papers “Ok, I’ll get Banner to bring you some aspirin, this talk isn’t over between us Frank” Said Tony before leaving the room. 

————-  
So Tony spent the next few hours doing more research, he didn’t know how he didn’t find this in the first place. His whole family was killed right in front of him, his wife and two children all by the gangs that he took down in Hells Kitchen. 

No wonder Frank had all this anger, all this tension like everyone is against him and why he is basically on a suicide mission, he has lost everyone he cared about and now he has nothing to lose.

He watched from the window how he was with Peter, he actually smiled. It was clear that Frank was good with kids, he lost his mom and dad but he can’t imagine the thought of losing your wife and children right in front of you. It became obvious why Frank didn’t want to tell him because who would want to speak about that? 

It was late, it was dark out apart from the city lights and it was quiet in the tower. Tony closed his laptop and put the papers he had collected on Frank Castle to one side. 

Entering the lift he went up to the floor Frank was on. Walking past the door his room was dark, apart from a small lamp in the corner of the room giving a warm glow in the room, Frank was fast asleep. 

Tony slowly opened his door, quietly shutting it behind him as he quietly sat down on the chair next to the bed. He sat back, arms crossed, watching Frank peaceful sleep as he waited for him to wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

BANG!  
Frank shot forward in the bed as he woke up, gasping out. He jumped as he felt a hand on him “woah, it’s ok just a bad dream” Said Tony as he gently pushed him back in the bed as Frank tired to steadily breathe again. How long had he been there for? 

It was silent between the two again as Frank tried to calm down. “I um...I’m sorry for pushing you to talk...I understand now” apologised Tony, breaking the silence between the two.

Frank didn’t say anything. He felt weak, vulnerable and pathetic. Stuck on bed rest while he has to ask if he can get any pain relief, his whole body hurts and on top of that he’s stuck in the goddamn Avengers tower. “I hope you don’t mind me asking...was it about them?” Asked Tony referring to the dream, he was right...it was about them and suddenly the emotions began to pile up. Tony heard a small sniffle come from Frank.  
“It’s always about them” he responded voice breaking as tears threatened to leave, Tony felt his heart sink.

“I’m not trying to push you but if you want to talk about it I’m here, if you don’t want to that’s fine too I’ll respect that” Said Tony as Frank turned to look at him, he had tears in his eyes, it actually broke Tony seeing him like that after finding out the truth.

“It’s not a dream, it’s a memory...the only difference is I know what’s about to happen, but I can’t speak...I would always hear their laughter it was something that always stuck with me, something I wanted to hold onto...and recently I haven’t been able to hear it”   
“And now?”   
Tony heard a whimper escape Frank’s throat as tears began to fall “I still can’t hear it, it’s gone. It’s all I had left and it’s gone” Tony could hear the heartbreak in his voice, it pained him, he didn’t really know what he could say or do to comfort him.

“I can’t imagine the pain you went through, I’m so sorry” Said Tony as he placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder, his thumb gently stroking his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.  
“Yeah well...they got what they deserved...all of them” muttered Frank.  
“I’m sure they did” Said Tony as he looked at Frank, he could see the tears silently rolling down his face as Frank sniffled. Some reason a part of him wanted to wipe the tears from his face and run his fingers through his hair, telling him that everything will be ok, he was a little surprised with himself for even thinking that way, he had just met the guy and this is the most he’s spoken to Frank without him trying to bite his head off. 

“Now here I am, stuck in a goddamn bed, having to ask for pain relief” Said Frank.  
“Hey maybe we can try and get you out the bed tomorrow, maybe I can get you a fancy wheelchair” Responded Tony causing Frank to actually laugh, the tears were beginning to stop but his laugh sounded nice.

“What? You going to push me around?” Asked Frank, Tony shrugged his shoulders “I can do unless you want to be a big boy and push yourself” Responded Tony as Frank chuckled shaking his head. 

The laughter began to die down between the two before Tony spoke up again “you are safe here Frank, I get why you may feel on edge or feel that you can’t talk to us or you don’t trust us...but this is your home until you’ve recovered, just wanted you to know that you can trust me” he said as Frank stayed silent.

“Should probably head to bed, it’s getting late....do you need anything?”   
“I’m good”  
“Ok, well there’s a button next to you if you need anything, it’ll alert one of us” Said Tony as he turned around to leave.

“Tony!” He called out as Tony stopped in his steps to face Frank.  
“Thanks....for listening” Said Frank. Tony softly smiled at him “it’s fine...the button is also there if you need to talk” he said before he left the room.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Frank woke up to Tony entering the room pushing a wheel chair in. “Told you I’d get you a chair!” Said Tony with a smirk before passing a pile of clothes to Frank.  
“Put these on and I’ll help you into the chair” he said before leaving the room.

Frank groaned as he pulled the hospital gown off his body before reaching for the jacket Tony had given him, slowly putting his arms into it before zipping the jacket up. It seemed to fit ok, he then grabbed the pants and slowly put his legs into them. His body ached but he wasn’t going to ask Tony for help, no way was he going to lose more of his dignity. Once he finished pulling them up there was a knock on the door.

“You decent?”  
“Yeah!” Responded Frank before Tony entered the room again, bringing the wheelchair closer to him.

Frank groaned as he attempted to lift himself off the bed to get into the chair, it hurt too much. Tony reached out, wrapping one arm around his wait and bringing Frank’s arm over his shoulder and he got him off the bed and into the chair. 

“So where are we going?” Asked Frank as he leaned back into the seat.  
“First, were having breakfast” he said as he wheeled Frank out the room towards the elevator. 

It was silent between the two as they entered the lift and waited for it to stop on the right floor. The elevator pinged and the doors opened as Tony wheeled him out of the lift and towards the living and kitchen area. 

Tony moved away from the wheelchair and made his way into the kitchen as he began to take things out.  
“Fancy place you’ve got here” Said Frank as he pushed the wheels to move around the room.  
“Thanks, did you ever think you’d be here?” Responded Tony with a smirk.

“Nah, with the shit I do,I didn’t think I’d get an invitation to the Avengers tower anytime soon” Responded Frank causing Tony to chuckle.  
“Yeah well, things happen” Said Tony as he continued working in the kitchen.  
“Did you sleep ok?” Asked Tony  
“Apart from my whole body hurting? Yeah” Responded Frank.  
“I’ll get you some more aspirin after you’ve eaten” 

Tony had made eggs, bacon and toast for both himself and Frank. Making his way over to the table, Frank climbed out the wheelchair to sit on one of the stools as Tony pushed the plate towards him. He poured a glass of orange juice for them both and passed one of the glasses to Frank. 

Tony was amused to see Frank wolfing down the food like he hadn’t eaten in days, maybe that was the case, he imagines it would be a little difficult trying to get food when every police officer and criminal are after you. 

Both turned to looked at the door as it opened “Tony” it was Steve.  
“Can we talk?...in private?” He Asked as he looked at Frank at the table. Tony put his fork down, leaving the table and room.  
“What’s he doing out of bed?” Asked Steve as soon as they left the room.

“Just thought I’d make him breakfast” shrugged Tony.  
“He’s dangerous, I’m sure you’re aware of what he’s capable of” Responded Steve.  
“Yeah but not to us, he’s recovering from a bomb attack I don’t think he’d going to be jumping up guns firing anytime soon” Said Tony as they both looked through the window on the door at Frank sitting at the table. 

“Look we talked last night...personal matters, he’s not a threat Steve. I’ll be keeping my eyes on him” explained Tony as Steve shook his head in disagreement   
“I didn’t think it was a good idea to have him here in the first place but I let it slide because I assumed you’d have him on lockdown, not making him breakfast” 

“Like I Said...I’m keeping my eye on him”.  
Steve sighed, looking through the window again before back to Tony “if anything happens the blame will be put on you” Said Steve before walking away. 

Tony rolled his eyes as he made his way back into the kitchen getting the bottle of aspirin from the cupboard.  
“Anything important?” Asked Frank indicating towards his chat with Steve.  
Tony shook his head “nothing important” he said as he passed the pills to Frank who quickly swallowed them. 

“You ready to go on a tour?” Asked Tony causing Frank to raise his eyebrow at him.  
“Since you’re living here until you recover might as well show you around” he suggested.

Frank shrugged as he climbed off the stool and back into the wheelchair with the help of Tony before he was pushed around the tower. Tony showed him the various rooms they had such as the training rooms which Tony has offered he can use once his strength starts to build up again and the lounge room which is used for movie nights, who would have thought the goddamn Avengers have movie nights?

“Were actually having movie night tonight, you’re joining us” Said Tony. Frank rolled his eyes, this was going to be fun.

Later on Tony had come into his room to tell him they’re about to watch a movie and to get his ass in the wheelchair. Frank climbing into the wheelchair as Tony took him to the lounge room.

It was silent and heads from the couches turned to look at them as they entered the room. “The patient has arrived!” Called out Tony as he wheeled Frank further into the room. “Everyone this is Frank! Frank this is Steve, Bruce, Clint and Nat” he said as he introduced Frank to them all. This was awkward, Tony wheeled Frank to the couch and let Frank climb out himself before Tony joined to sit next to him.

It was Natasha’s turn to pick this week and she had picked some horror movie for them to watch. The movie wasn’t anything interesting and really terribly made but Frank guessed that’s what made it entertaining. He began to feel incredibly tired as the film went on, it had been a long day and he had not gotten a lot of sleep the night before. Tony was right next to him and slowly Frank was feeling himself beginning to drift off, he tried to keep awake throughout the whole movie but he was too tired. 

“Someone’s tired” Said Clint as they all turned to see Frank fast asleep, head resting on Tony’s shoulder.   
“It’s almost sweet” Responded Nat with a smirk.  
Tony had a smirk on his face as he looked at Frank peacefully asleep, was it wrong for him to think he looked cute? he decided he should probably wake him up and take him back to his room.

Tony gently began to shake his shoulder “Frank...Frank wake up” he muttered as Frank’s eyes began to flutter open.  
“Hey, I’ll take you back to your room” Muttered Tony as he got off the couch and brought the wheelchair back around. Frank climbed in before Tony said his good nights to everyone as they left the room.

Once they made it back to Frank’s room, Tony helped him from the chair and into the bed. “Just press the button if you need anything” Said Tony.  
“Appreciate it” muttered Frank as he relaxed into the sheets.  
“Night Frank” He said before leaving the room. 

Tony was surprised to see Natasha at the end of the corridor as Tony made his way over to her. “You two were pretty cosy tonight” she started.  
Tony shrugged his shoulders “he was tired”  
“Steve tells me you made him breakfast this morning and you’ve been pushing him around in the chair all day” she said   
“I just thought since he’s living here until he recovers might as well give him a tour” he responded causing Nat to raise her eyebrow.  
“What?”  
“You like him” she said with a smirk causing Tony’s eyes to widen and his face go a little warm.  
“Just because I’ve been looking after him doesn’t mean I like him” argued Tony but Nat could see through it and he knew it.  
“Ok I like him a little, what? you think I’m going to take him to my bed?” confessed Tony.

“I think you’re hoping this tour you’ve been giving him ends with him in your bed, your secret is safe with me...just don’t do anything stupid” she said before she turned to walk away.  
“I won’t” He called to her as she entered the lift.

Fuck he likes Frank.


End file.
